Skillet “Bread Gnocchi”
This is a weird recipe. I know it. So much so that for a long time I didn’t consider sharing it with you. What’s more, I’m pretty sure I got the idea from Rachael Ray. So half the world knows about it and the other half doesn’t want to know about it. But here I am, soldiering on. It’s just that it’s so delicious.
There are just some foods that shouldn’t be quite as delicious as they are. This, for instance, it basically, bread, some marinara, and cheese. Nothing special. But put together just right, it’s transformed and becomes something that you’d happily serve your family for dinner, and they would (very) happily eat for dinner. And by eat I mean scarf down until there is nothing left. My toddler, who is usually too busy to be much concerned with dinner, had three helpings. THREE. 
So here’s how this goes down. You have some leftover bread, stale and dry. You cut it up into gnocchi-sized bits, then give them a few turns in an olive oil slicked skillet until they are crispy and golden on the edges. If they get a little bit burned on the edges, all the better. Then, you slather your toasty bits of bread with your favorite tomato sauce, and toss it all together until every little bit is coated. You top the whole saucy mess off with a generous amount of fresh mozzarella, which then goes under the broiler until it gets all blistered and gooey and seeps back down into the bread and sauce. Top the whole shebang off with a bit of fresh basil, bring it to the table, and call it dinner. Voila.
So, this doesn’t exactly taste like gnocchi. But it really just doesn’t matter. It tastes like bits of toasty bread soaked in rich sauce and topped with melted cheese and fresh herbs. Yeah, oh well, right?!
Hibiscus Tea Punch (or… Natural Cool-Aid!)
Also, a little disclaimer: as written, this is definitely NOT as sweet as normal cool-aid type drinks. If you or your little ones are used to super sweet stuff, you may want to add a bit more of your chosen sweetener (even if it's sugar), and then slowly lessen the amount you add over time. Even if you add a lot of sugar, you're still better off health-wise, since this is artificial flavoring, dye, and chemical free!
Ingredients
- 4 herbal tea-bags containing hibiscus and any other flavors you wish
- 4 cups boiling water, plus 2 cups cold water
- 1/3-1/2 cups honey, to taste (or any other natural sweetener, to taste)
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup no sugar added cherry juice
Instructions
- In a large bowl or tempered glass pitcher, steep the tea bags for 5-10 minutes in the boiling water. Remove the tea bags once the tea is strong enough, then stir in honey (or sweetener) while the tea is still warm.
- Stir in the cold water and a cup or two of ice cubes. Add the apple cider vinegar and cherry juice and stir until combined. Serve chilled, over ice.